'Secrets' will leave you laughing

The sketches come in rapid succession.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Remarkably timed to coincide with the extra-late arrival of spring weather is Youngstown State University Theater's production of "Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know."
"Secrets" is a very funny musical revue that points out the miseries and silliness of travel, like lost luggage, Montezuma's Revenge and cruise ship buffets. If spring has you thinking "vacation," be warned: This stuff is so funny because it's more than a little bit true.
An ensemble cast of eight races through a rapid-fire series of sketches, the longest of which are only a few minutes long. Some sketches are funnier than others, but the pace never drags, and the two-act show, with intermission, breezes by in two hours.
The play is adapted from a serious 1996 travel book of the same title written by Wendy Perrin. It began life as a Broadway musical shortly thereafter.
The skits are lighthearted, but listen closely, as the jokes come in quick succession.
First-time director John Murphy, a theater department professor, has his group in "American tourist" mode -- Hawaiian print shirts, big hats on the ladies, and personalities that are anything but unobtrusive.
The fun starts when you enter the theater by passing through a metal detector, with cast members playing the role of security.
The revue has dozens of skits, and a few are divinely hilarious.
In "The French Song," Angela Medaugh plays a sultry French nightclub singer, with Missy Bookbinder across the stage serving as translator. Surprising how French makes everything sound so passionate.
"Buffet" is a riotous send-up in which the whole ensemble shares its love of the never-ending food table.
In "Acapulco," Liz Rubino has a great shmaltzy presence in her pursuit of a Mexican guide, played by Richard Bell.
There's more. Like Brian Peters, who is reluctantly "Naked in Pittsburgh."
Or David Munnell's "Paradise Found," in which the physical humor specialist sings the praises of his native Uzbekistan. He'll make you think "Borat" was right about that place.
And Bell, Peters, Vince Basile and Molly Makselan have perfect timing as they go through "Customs."
At the rear of the stage, director Murphy employs a screen to show travel "slides," adding another layer of laughs to the sketches.
"Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know" will be presented at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Sunday at Ford Theater, in Bliss Hall, on the YSU campus, on Wick Avenue. Call (330) 941-3105.